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Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14

#churchleadership #jesus #Messiah #salvation #virginbirth

https://lightforthelastdays.co.uk/articles/christians-issues/the-virgin-birth/
Transcript
00:00So let's just have a little prayer as we come to the Lord.
00:06Have I ever flipped it? Yeah.
00:08Okay.
00:10Okay, so we'll start recording now, Chris.
00:13Lord, we thank you that we can meet in the name of Jesus.
00:15We thank you for the way of God, we thank you for the truth we have.
00:18Pray that you'll guide me and help as we look at the subject of the birth of the Messiah
00:23in the book of Isaiah.
00:26In Jesus' name, Amen.
00:27Amen.
00:30Okay, so I'm going to read from Isaiah chapter 7.
00:37And we're going to put the famous virgin birth prophecy in context
00:41and say a little bit about the context and what it actually means.
00:50So starting with verse 1, Isaiah 7.
00:54Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jothan, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah,
01:05that Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Ramaliah, king of Israel,
01:10went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it.
01:14And it was told to the house of David, saying, Syria's forces are deployed in Ephraim.
01:20So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.
01:25Then the Lord said to Isaiah, go now and meet Ahaz, you and Shear Yashub, your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool on the highway to the fuller's field.
01:36And say to him, take heed and be quiet, do not fear, or be faint-hearted, for these two stubs of smoking firebrands,
01:44for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Ramaliah.
01:49Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Ramaliah have plotted evil against you, saying,
01:54let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its walls for ourselves,
02:00and set a king over them, the son of Tabeah.
02:02Thus says the Lord God, it shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass.
02:07For the head of Syria is Damascus, the head of Damascus is Rezin.
02:11Within sixty-five years, Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people.
02:16The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Ramaliah's son.
02:21If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.
02:25Moreover, the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ask a sign for yourself from the Lord, your God.
02:29Ask it either in the depth or in the height above.
02:34But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord.
02:39Then he said, Hear now, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men,
02:43but will you weary my God also?
02:46Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
02:49Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
02:54God with us.
02:54Probably you are familiar with the last verse, but maybe not with the others.
03:01And I want to put it in context, but I also want to answer a few questions,
03:05which are asked particularly by Jewish people on this subject, including Jewish rabbis.
03:12Now if you look at the subject here, you have to say that the concept of the virgin birth
03:16is actually central to our view of the Messiah.
03:18The word says here, he's going to be called Immanuel, which means God with us.
03:25It means he's going to be born as a human.
03:29He's going to be born as God.
03:32And coming as God, he's going to be without sin.
03:37And the concept of the Bible tells us is that all human beings are tainted with the problem of sin.
03:42And the Messiah is prophesied to be the one who's going to deliver us from the power of sin.
03:48So this prophecy is actually telling you something about the Messiah coming,
03:52and he has to be born to a virgin in order to receive a sinless human nature.
03:56He has to be born as a human to be son of man.
03:59He has to be born to the virgin to be son of God.
04:02And this is very important, but you'll find that this is one of the doctrines which is attacked
04:07by opponents of Christianity, including some within the church,
04:13and particularly by Jewish rabbis who want to show you that this is not about
04:19the virgin birth of the Messiah at all.
04:21It's about something quite different.
04:22That's why I read it in its context.
04:24And there's a book which is written by a rabbi called Rabbi Kaplan called
04:31The Real Messiah, a Jewish response to missionaries or to Christians.
04:38And he said that the Jewish Messiah is a truly human in origin.
04:43He's born of ordinary human parents, that is, of flesh and blood like all mortals.
04:48In other words, the Messiah is just a normal human being,
04:51but a special human being born in the normal way.
04:54Now, the New Testament is of pains to make clear that there was something very unusual
04:59about Jesus' birth.
05:01And you can see that this passage, verse 14, is quoted in the book of Matthew
05:05as being applied to the virgin birth of Jesus.
05:09And it says that this unusual conception is the fulfillment of Isaiah, chapter 7, verse 14.
05:16Therefore, Jesus is not born in the normal way, and he's not a normal human being.
05:21And this is something which is a point of debate.
05:26Now, I once went to a debate with a Messianic Jew and Rabbi Shmulli Bateach,
05:32who was an Orthodox Jewish man, on the question, was Jesus the Messiah?
05:38Unfortunately, the Messianic Jew, in this case, was not prepared and absolutely had the floor wiped with him
05:43by Rabbi Bateach.
05:45I won't tell you who he was, but that's something which happened.
05:50And from the platform, Rabbi Bateach said about this particular scripture,
05:54he said,
05:54Any Christian claiming that Isaiah 7, verse 14 is a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus
05:59is being intellectually dishonest.
06:03Okay, so if you believe that, then you're being intellectually dishonest.
06:07It means actually that Christians have to reject the New Testament
06:10because in the very first chapter of the New Testament, in the book of Matthew,
06:13it makes this claim, quoting Isaiah 7,
06:16So, although Jesus was never called Emmanuel in his public life,
06:34he was literally God with us, according to the New Testament teaching,
06:38having both a human and a divine nature.
06:40And as you look through the teaching of Jesus,
06:45he made clear that the details of his life and his ministry were prophesied in scripture.
06:53John chapter 5, verse 39,
06:56Jesus said,
06:56You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life,
06:59for these are they which testify of me.
07:03So Jesus made a very clear statement in that.
07:05He's saying that the scriptures, which meant the Old Testament scriptures,
07:08because the New Testament wasn't written at this time,
07:10testify of Jesus.
07:11You search them and you'll find things about himself.
07:15Now, if you believe this, you have to make a choice.
07:17Either Jesus was right when he said this,
07:20and the scriptures written centuries before he came do testify of him coming,
07:25in which case he is the Messiah,
07:27and the scriptures are true,
07:29therefore you should listen to what Jesus says.
07:32If he's not, then you can junk the whole business.
07:35You can say, well, there's no point.
07:37Christianity is untrue,
07:39and you can go home and forget about it.
07:41It actually is as important as that.
07:43If Jesus meant what he said,
07:45if these scriptures really are about Jesus,
07:46then our faith is confirmed.
07:48If they're not,
07:50then basically the whole of the New Testament is based upon a lie.
07:53Jesus was not the Messiah.
07:55He didn't fulfill these scriptures,
07:56and these scriptures don't apply to him.
07:57So, in order to be intellectually honest,
08:03in the eyes of Rabbi Batiach,
08:06Christians have to reject the New Testament and the words of Jesus,
08:09in which case they don't have much left to believe in,
08:11and might as well reject their faith altogether.
08:15So, why believe in someone who was so deluded
08:17that he hadn't thought that scriptures,
08:19or things written hundreds of years before he came,
08:22referred to himself?
08:23If I was to tell you that there are things in the writings of Shakespeare
08:27which apply to Tony Pierce,
08:29you'd probably say, I was crazy.
08:32And I would be.
08:33Shakespeare was written 500 years ago.
08:35Scriptures were written 500 years before Jesus came.
08:38And Jesus said that these things which are written in the scriptures
08:42apply to myself.
08:44And you have to take that or leave it.
08:46So, I want to show you that this scripture does apply to Jesus,
08:51and good reasons why you can believe this.
08:54Now, there are two issues which are the main ones
08:56which the rabbis will use to discredit this idea.
09:01Firstly, that the word which is used for virgin,
09:03which is translated as virgin in the Hebrew,
09:05is Alma,
09:07which should be translated as young woman,
09:09not virgin.
09:11Secondly, the passage in the context
09:13is a short-term prophecy to King Ahaz,
09:16about his fears of an invasion of allied forces
09:19led by Rezin, king of Syria,
09:21and Pika, king of Israel,
09:23not a prophecy about the virgin birth of the Messiah.
09:27So, let's look at the first one.
09:29Alma or Betullah.
09:31Now, you have two words in the Hebrew scriptures.
09:33One is Betullah,
09:34which is the one which is used most oftenly,
09:36and it means virgin.
09:39And it's used in several places.
09:43And the rabbis would say,
09:44if it really meant virgin,
09:45they should have used this word Betullah.
09:47You have it used in Genesis chapter 24, verse 16,
09:51when Abraham's servant is going in search of a bride for Isaac.
09:56Turns out to be Rebekah.
09:58And this text says that she should be a virgin.
10:02It says,
10:03now the young woman
10:04was very beautiful to behold,
10:06a virgin, Betullah,
10:08no man had known her.
10:09Okay, so it says that she is a virgin
10:14and no man had known her.
10:15Now, the fact that he uses the phrase
10:17no man had known her is interesting
10:18because Bible is actually quite precise with words.
10:22It doesn't use unnecessary words.
10:25And saying that she's a virgin,
10:27no man had known her
10:28is a bit like saying the young woman is a virgin,
10:30she's never had sex with a man.
10:32You understand that that's what it means.
10:34So it has put this clause in
10:35to make sure that you understand
10:36that Rebekah was a virgin.
10:41And her virginity is very important
10:42because that's what she needs to be eligible
10:44to be the bride of Isaac.
10:48Interestingly, if you go further on in the text
10:49in Genesis 24,
10:51the word Alma
10:51is also used of Rebekah
10:53in verse 43,
10:56by which time her virginity has been demonstrated.
10:59So you can see actually
11:00that the two words are used
11:01of the same person
11:02stressing her virginity,
11:03but in one case
11:04it actually stresses what virgin means,
11:06that she hasn't known a man.
11:08In other words,
11:08she hasn't been with a man.
11:10Second interesting thing
11:11which I actually shared with Rabbi Bateach
11:13on this event,
11:14of the infamous debate afterwards,
11:17is in Joel chapter 1, verse 8,
11:20where it speaks about
11:21the young woman mourning
11:22for the husband of her youth.
11:25And the word which is used
11:26for the woman there is betullo.
11:28So the betullo is mourning
11:29for her husband
11:30and the text seems to imply
11:32that her husband
11:32has been killed in the war
11:33and therefore she's mourning
11:36for her husband
11:36who has died.
11:39Which implies that she
11:40is not a virgin
11:41because she's been married,
11:42she's already married.
11:44I shared this with Rabbi Bateach
11:45and he said,
11:47oh I'll have to look that one up.
11:49So that was a new one for him.
11:50Never got back to me
11:51with his answer.
11:52But it's just one little text
11:54which says that
11:55the word betullo
11:56doesn't always mean virgin.
11:59Also the word betullo
12:00is used in Isaiah chapter 47
12:02for example
12:02where it says,
12:03oh virgin daughter of Babylon.
12:06And in Isaiah 23,
12:07virgin daughter of Sidon.
12:09And in Jeremiah,
12:10virgin daughter of Egypt.
12:12Betullo.
12:13Used in all those phrases.
12:14Now all those phrases
12:15actually it's using
12:16about nations
12:16which were facing
12:18the judgment of God
12:19because of their impurity.
12:21So you have a bit of a question mark.
12:22does betullo always mean virgin?
12:25Now that might seem
12:25a bit academic
12:26but it's interesting
12:27for the discussion.
12:29The other word
12:30which is used is almar.
12:31Almar is only used
12:32seven times
12:33in the New Testament
12:34and not once
12:36does it describe
12:38a married woman.
12:40The word almar
12:40actually means
12:41a young woman
12:42of marriageable age
12:43who is already
12:44sexually mature.
12:45In other words,
12:46she's reached her
12:47menstrual cycle,
12:47she can have children
12:48but she's not yet married.
12:49Now in that case
12:53it would be expected
12:54that she would be a virgin
12:55because in those societies
12:56if you're a young woman
12:58you're not expected
12:59to have sexual relations
13:00until you got married
13:01which was the case
13:02in our society
13:04as well up to recently.
13:06But it's interesting
13:06that the German word
13:07for virgin
13:08is jungfrau
13:09which literally means
13:12young woman.
13:13So there's a concept
13:14here.
13:16Okay, so
13:16the word almar
13:18almar is used
13:20as we said already
13:20in Genesis of Rebekah
13:22when she's clearly
13:24an unmarried virgin
13:26in Exodus of Miriam
13:28chapter 2 verse 8
13:29and in the Psalms
13:31describing a procession
13:32of maidens
13:33playing tambourines
13:34in worship of God
13:34in procession
13:35up to the temple.
13:38And these are young women
13:39who are almat
13:40it says in the Hebrew
13:41participating in a worship
13:43acceptable to God
13:44as described in this psalm.
13:46Now, we would expect
13:48that if they're going up
13:49to worship God
13:49and they're young women
13:51you'd expect that
13:51they would still be
13:52virgins.
13:53It's also used twice
13:54in the Song of Songs
13:55in contrast to the wives
13:58of concubines
13:59of Solomon
13:59who would obviously
14:00not be virgins.
14:02There's a sixth case
14:03which Rabbi Bateoch
14:04used in his debate
14:05which is in Proverbs
14:06chapter 30
14:07verse 18
14:08where it says
14:09there are three things
14:10which are too wonderful
14:10for me
14:11yes four
14:11which I do not understand
14:12the way of an eagle
14:14in the air
14:14the way of a serpent
14:15on the rock
14:15the way of a ship
14:16in the midst of the sea
14:17and the way of a man
14:18with a maid
14:19or with an alma
14:20and the next verse
14:22says
14:23this is the way
14:24of an adulterous woman
14:25she wipes her mouth
14:26and says
14:26I've done no wickedness.
14:29So Rabbi Bateoch
14:30said that this verse
14:31verse 20
14:33continues the thought
14:33of the previous verse
14:34and therefore the alma
14:35referred to in verse 19
14:37is an adulterous woman
14:38and not a virgin.
14:40That's an assumption
14:41because if you go
14:43through the Proverbs
14:43it's constructed
14:45with short sayings
14:46sometimes
14:47follow on from each other
14:48sometimes they're actually
14:49in contrast with each other.
14:51Also it uses
14:52the Hebrew word
14:52wonderful
14:53which is niflu
14:54which is usually used
14:55of the wonders of God.
14:57So there's a question
14:58there.
14:59It's not a proof
15:00and it's certainly
15:01not a proof
15:01that this is an
15:02immoral woman.
15:05Okay, so we come
15:05to the root
15:06of the word alma.
15:07alma is a
15:10said it implies
15:13a sexually mature
15:14woman
15:15of marriageable age
15:17but not yet married.
15:19As I said
15:19ancient Jewish culture
15:21would expect
15:21an unmarried woman
15:22to be a virgin
15:23and
15:25in fact
15:28in the book
15:28of Deuteronomy
15:29it says that
15:30if a betrothed woman
15:31was found
15:32not to be a virgin
15:32she was to be put
15:33to death
15:34according to the book
15:35of Deuteronomy.
15:35Also which is
15:38interesting
15:38the Hebrew Bible
15:39was translated
15:40into Greek
15:41in what's called
15:42the Septuagint
15:43translation
15:44around 165
15:46years before
15:47Jesus came.
15:49And when they
15:50came to this verse
15:51the rabbis
15:52who were looking
15:53at this verse
15:53translated the
15:54word virgin
15:55as
15:56Parthenos
15:57in Greek.
15:59And Parthenos
16:00you agree with me
16:02only means virgin
16:03yeah?
16:04I have some
16:05Greek speakers here
16:05so they can
16:06confirm that to me
16:07so Parthenos
16:08means virgin
16:09so 165 years
16:11or more
16:11before Jesus
16:12came
16:12at a time
16:14when they
16:14didn't know
16:14anything about
16:15the virgin
16:15birth of Jesus
16:16Greek scholars
16:17translated the
16:18Hebrew text
16:19and said that
16:19this actually
16:20meant virgin
16:21and they
16:23translated Alma
16:24as Parthenos
16:25so you have
16:28another
16:29interesting thing
16:30in the verse
16:30itself
16:31it says that
16:31Alma being
16:33with child
16:33would be a
16:35sign
16:36and the word
16:37which is used
16:37in Hebrew
16:38is ot
16:38and ot
16:40in Hebrew
16:41means a miracle
16:41it means something
16:43a miracle
16:43done by God
16:44okay?
16:46now if you think
16:47about it
16:47there's nothing
16:48miraculous
16:48about a young
16:50woman conceiving
16:51and bearing a
16:52child
16:52happens in every
16:54generation
16:54yeah?
16:56maybe happened
16:57to some people
16:57here
16:57it's something
17:00which is an
17:01everyday event
17:01what it says
17:02here is that
17:02this is going
17:03to be a sign
17:04an ot
17:04a miracle
17:05something which
17:06is out of
17:06the ordinary
17:06and ot
17:07actually implies
17:08a sign
17:08given by God
17:09so if this
17:12is a sign
17:13then it has
17:14to be something
17:14more than just
17:15a normal
17:15conception
17:16and also
17:18moreover
17:18if this is a
17:19young unmarried
17:20woman being
17:20with child
17:21by the natural
17:22means
17:22in other words
17:22by sexual
17:24relations
17:24this would
17:25actually involve
17:26fornication
17:26and it's
17:28quite unthinkable
17:28that God
17:29would give
17:29a sign
17:30of Emmanuel
17:30God with
17:31us
17:31involving
17:32immorality
17:33so for these
17:35reasons there
17:35are good
17:35reasons to
17:36believe that
17:38the Christian
17:38claim that
17:39this word
17:39Alma is
17:40used in
17:40this verse
17:41to stress
17:41the virginity
17:42of the person
17:42involved
17:42without being
17:44intellectually
17:44dishonest
17:46okay now
17:49the argument
17:49against this
17:50is that
17:50in the context
17:51Isaiah was
17:51talking to
17:52King Ahaz
17:53and giving
17:53him a word
17:53from God
17:54about a threat
17:55to his kingdom
17:56from his northern
17:57neighbours
17:57had nothing
17:58to do with
17:59the Messiah
17:59that's why
18:01I read to you
18:01the first part
18:02which probably
18:03doesn't get read
18:04in most
18:04expositions
18:05of this passage
18:06so if you look
18:08in the passage
18:09here you see
18:09that it is
18:10about
18:10the prophet
18:12Isaiah
18:13speaking to
18:14King Ahaz
18:16about a threat
18:17to his kingdom
18:17if you look
18:21at it
18:21there are
18:21three possibilities
18:22of what
18:23this prophecy
18:24is about
18:24the first
18:25one is
18:25that it's
18:26a short
18:26term prophecy
18:27to King Ahaz
18:28about the threat
18:29to his kingdom
18:29so it's just
18:30about
18:31just a prophecy
18:31to King Ahaz
18:32second one
18:34is that it is
18:35this
18:35but it's also
18:36a long term
18:36prophecy
18:37about the Messiah
18:38in other words
18:38the prophecy
18:39has two
18:39different applications
18:40and the third
18:42possibility
18:43is that there
18:43are two prophecies
18:44one to King Ahaz
18:45about the threat
18:45to his kingdom
18:46and one to the
18:47whole house
18:48of David
18:48about the birth
18:49of the Messiah
18:50you've got
18:52those three
18:52options
18:53the first
18:53option
18:54is the one
18:54which the
18:55rabbi
18:55favoured
18:56in his talk
18:56and he said
18:57that this
18:57is used
18:57to rule out
18:59any application
19:00to the Messiah
19:01the second
19:03is the one
19:03used by many
19:04Christians
19:04and implies
19:05that Isaiah
19:057.14
19:06is a prophecy
19:07to King Ahaz
19:07but also a prophecy
19:08about the Messiah
19:10and the third
19:12one is the one
19:12I'm going to look
19:12at tonight
19:13which is that
19:13there are two
19:14different prophecies
19:14and I'll tell you
19:15why that is the
19:16case
19:16now you have
19:18to understand
19:19there's a bit
19:19of the background
19:20to this prophecy
19:20in fact the background
19:22goes right back
19:23to the very beginning
19:24to the book of Genesis
19:25if you're familiar
19:26with the book of Genesis
19:27you read about
19:28how Adam and Eve
19:29sinned against God
19:30and God came
19:30and spoke to the serpent
19:32and he spoke to Adam
19:34and he spoke to the woman
19:34and gave them
19:35a prophetic word
19:36to each one of them
19:37the word he spoke
19:39to the serpent
19:39who in fact is Satan
19:42is the one
19:44which we're going
19:45to look at now
19:45in chapter 3
19:47verse 15
19:47of Genesis
19:48the Lord says
19:49I will put enmity
19:50between you
19:51i.e. the serpent
19:53and the woman
19:55and between your seed
19:56and her seed
19:57he shall bruise
19:58your head
19:58and you shall
19:59bruise his heel
20:00that's a very
20:01important prophecy
20:02it's the first
20:03messianic prophecy
20:04in the Bible
20:05it's speaking about
20:05someone who's going
20:06to come
20:06and going to
20:07bruise the head
20:08of the serpent
20:08and in the process
20:10he himself
20:11is going to be bruised
20:12so he's going to
20:13experience some kind
20:14of a suffering
20:16himself
20:17but he's in the process
20:18he's going to bruise
20:19the head of the serpent
20:20who is the devil
20:21now according to this prophecy
20:24the earliest messianic prophecy
20:26in the Bible
20:26the seed of the woman
20:28will bruise the head
20:28of the serpent
20:29he'll deliver a crushing blow
20:31to the head
20:31of the serpent
20:33and a crushing blow
20:34to the head
20:34is fatal
20:35and he in the process
20:37will receive a blow
20:38to his heel
20:39if you receive a blow
20:40to your heel
20:41it's not fatal
20:41but it is painful
20:43in other words
20:45a fatal blow
20:45is going to be delivered
20:46to Satan
20:47in this process
20:47but the one who delivers
20:48the blow
20:49will suffer
20:49in the process
20:50but not fatally
20:51and if you put this together
20:53this is a prophecy
20:54which means that
20:55there's someone going to come
20:56who'll be the Messiah
20:57who's actually going to
20:59bring deliverance
21:00to the human race
21:00from the power of evil
21:01the power of the devil
21:02which they've fallen into
21:04now because of
21:05falling to the temptations
21:06of the serpent
21:07who is the manifestation
21:09of the devil
21:10and it says
21:12that it's going to be
21:12the seed of the woman
21:14and in Isaiah
21:16here it speaks about
21:17the woman
21:20shall conceive
21:21and bear a son
21:22in Matthew's gospel
21:24it says the woman
21:25a particular woman
21:26not just any old woman
21:27there's going to be
21:30a significant
21:31and a chosen woman
21:32who's going to give birth
21:33to the one
21:33who's going to be
21:34that crush the head
21:34of the serpent
21:35even there's also
21:37in this prophecy
21:38some hint about
21:39the supernatural nature
21:40of his birth
21:41it says that
21:42the seed
21:43is going to
21:44the seed of the woman
21:45so the seed
21:46in normal intercourse
21:48is provided by the man
21:49in sexual reproduction
21:51whereas here
21:52the emphasis
21:53is on the seed
21:54of the woman
21:54and you've got
21:56this concept
21:57of the seed
21:57which goes through
21:58Old Testament prophecy
21:59God says to Abraham
22:02in your seed
22:03all the nations
22:03of the earth
22:04shall be blessed
22:04so talking about
22:05a seed
22:06is going to come
22:06out of the line
22:07that Abraham
22:07is going to bless
22:08all the nations
22:09Paul actually refers
22:10to this in the book
22:11of Galatians
22:11and he says
22:12it's about the Messiah
22:13about the Messiah
22:14is going to bring
22:14blessing to all
22:15the peoples
22:16of the world
22:16he's also going
22:18to have a line
22:18of promise
22:19which is traced
22:20through the genealogies
22:21of the Bible
22:21from Adam
22:22through to Seth
22:23Noah
22:23Shem
22:24Abraham
22:24Isaac
22:25Jacob
22:25Judah
22:26Jesse
22:26David
22:27to name some
22:28of the most
22:28important figures
22:29now Satan
22:32also knows
22:33this prophecy
22:34because it's
22:34actually given
22:34to him
22:35to the serpent
22:35so therefore
22:37he knows
22:37that this seed
22:38this line
22:38of the seed
22:39is going
22:39to be dangerous
22:40to him
22:40so he's going
22:40to do what
22:41he can
22:41to try and
22:41eliminate them
22:42if he can
22:43he knows
22:45that this seed
22:46is going
22:46to bring forth
22:47the one
22:47who's actually
22:48going to be
22:48revealed as
22:49the Messiah
22:49who's going
22:50to deal
22:51his kingdom
22:51a mortal blow
22:52so logically
22:54he's going
22:54to be hostile
22:55to the line
22:55of descent
22:56and to the
22:56individual woman
22:57who would
22:58bring this
22:58forth
22:58he's going
23:00to do
23:00everything
23:00in his power
23:01to prevent
23:01this from
23:02happening
23:02by trying
23:02to eliminate
23:03the messianic
23:04line
23:04so part
23:06of the
23:06battle
23:07part of
23:07the drama
23:08in the
23:08old testament
23:08is actually
23:09to get
23:10rid of
23:10the messianic
23:11line
23:11and to
23:11prevent
23:12the messiah
23:12from being
23:13born
23:13okay
23:16there's a second
23:17verse which
23:17you need to
23:18look at
23:18which is in
23:181 chronicles
23:19chapter 7
23:20verse 11
23:20which is the
23:22prophecy which
23:22Nathan gives
23:23to king
23:24David
23:25at the time
23:26when he's
23:26trying to
23:27rebuild the
23:27temple
23:28trying to
23:28build the
23:29temple
23:29and in
23:311 chronicles
23:31chapter 17
23:32verse 11
23:33prophet Nathan
23:34says to
23:35David
23:36it should be
23:37when your days
23:38are fulfilled
23:38when you must
23:39go to be
23:39with your
23:40fathers that
23:40I will set
23:41up your
23:41seed after
23:42you
23:42who will
23:43be one
23:44of your
23:44sons
23:44I will
23:45establish
23:46his kingdom
23:46he will
23:47build me
23:47a house
23:47and I will
23:48establish
23:48his throne
23:48forever
23:49I will
23:50be his
23:50father
23:50he shall
23:51be my
23:51son
23:51I will
23:52not take
23:52away
23:52my mercy
23:53from him
23:53as I
23:53took it
23:54from him
23:54who was
23:54before you
23:55and I
23:56will establish
23:56him in
23:57my house
23:57and in
23:57my kingdom
23:58forever
23:58and his
23:59throne
23:59shall be
23:59established
24:00forever
24:00so you
24:02have an
24:02interesting
24:02prophecy
24:03there
24:03it's
24:03speaking
24:04about
24:04somebody
24:04going to be
24:04the seed
24:05it's going to
24:06come out of
24:06David
24:06he's going to
24:08have one of
24:09his sons
24:10and he's going to
24:11establish his
24:12kingdom
24:12now on one level
24:13this is speaking
24:14about the kings
24:15who came out of
24:15the line of
24:16David
24:16including Solomon
24:17who was going to
24:18rebuild
24:18who was going to
24:19build the temple
24:19he'll build me a
24:21house and I will
24:22establish his throne
24:22and you have a
24:24line of kings
24:25that comes out of
24:25David
24:26some good
24:27some bad
24:27but they
24:28continue
24:29until the
24:30Babylonian
24:30captivity
24:31but in this
24:32prophecy
24:33he also says
24:33that he's going
24:34to establish
24:35him in my
24:35house and in
24:36my kingdom
24:37forever
24:37and his throne
24:38is going to be
24:39established forever
24:39so he's now
24:41talking about
24:41some seed of
24:42the woman
24:43he's going to be a
24:44descendant of
24:44David
24:45he's going to
24:45have an eternal
24:45house an eternal
24:46throne and an
24:47eternal kingdom
24:48which raises a
24:50logical question
24:51how can any
24:51human have an
24:52eternal
24:52anything that is
24:53eternal
24:54because we're all
24:54mortal and we're
24:55all going to
24:55die
24:55and David's
24:57kingdom has
24:57long since
24:58passed away
24:58there's no
24:59king of the
24:59line of David
25:00on the throne
25:00today
25:01so you have
25:02this issue
25:03which once
25:04you'd say this
25:04was a false
25:05prophecy
25:05it hasn't
25:06come to
25:06pass
25:06anyone who
25:08can have an
25:08eternal house
25:08an eternal
25:09throne and
25:09eternal kingdom
25:10is an
25:11eternal
25:12person
25:12when you
25:14when you go
25:14to Luke
25:17chapter 1
25:18the
25:18annunciation
25:19of the
25:19angel to
25:20Miriam
25:21to Mary
25:21she says
25:23that she's
25:23going to
25:23bear a
25:24son and
25:25he will be
25:26called the
25:27son of the
25:27highest and
25:28the Lord
25:28God will
25:29give him the
25:30throne of his
25:30father David
25:31he'll reign over
25:31the house of
25:32Jacob forever
25:32and of his
25:33kingdom there
25:34will be no
25:34end
25:35so the
25:36prophecy says
25:37that there's
25:37going to be
25:37one who
25:37will be born
25:38of the
25:38line of
25:38David
25:39who will
25:40have an
25:40eternal house
25:41an eternal
25:41kingdom and
25:42an eternal
25:43throne
25:43he can do
25:44that because
25:45he's an
25:45eternal person
25:46because he's
25:46come from
25:46heaven to
25:47earth and
25:48he's come to
25:48heaven to
25:49earth by
25:50this method
25:51of virgin
25:51birth
25:51so can you
25:53see there's
25:53a kind of
25:54theological
25:54connection which
25:55continues through
25:56these prophecies
25:57okay so let's
26:00go back to the
26:01situation with
26:01Ahaz
26:02at the time of
26:05king Ahaz
26:06you have a
26:07divided kingdom
26:08between the
26:09kingdom of
26:09Judah which is
26:10down here
26:10here's Jerusalem
26:11and the
26:13kingdom of
26:13Israel which
26:14is to the
26:14north which
26:15divided after
26:16the revolt of
26:20Jeroboam against
26:21king Rehoboam
26:22after Solomon
26:23died and you
26:26have to north
26:26of them the
26:27kingdom of
26:28Aram or
26:28Damascus and
26:30to the north
26:30of that you
26:31have Syria
26:32by the time
26:35you reach this
26:36prophecy in
26:37Isaiah chapter
26:387 it's about
26:39250 years that
26:40have passed
26:40passed since
26:41the division
26:41of the united
26:42kingdom of
26:42David and
26:43Solomon into
26:44the northern
26:44kingdom of
26:45Israel also
26:46known as
26:47Ephraim and
26:48the southern
26:48kingdom of
26:49Judah
26:49about 20
26:51years later the
26:52northern kingdom
26:52of Israel will
26:53be invaded and
26:53carried off into
26:54captivity by the
26:55Assyrians they
26:56come down and
26:58basically eliminate the
26:59northern kingdom of
27:00Israel
27:00you can read about
27:04that in the book
27:05of kings chapter 2
27:07kings chapter 16
27:08to 17
27:08now the one who's
27:11receiving this
27:11prophecy is a man
27:12called Ahaz
27:13what do you know
27:14about king Ahaz
27:15is he a good king
27:16or not
27:17he was a bad king
27:19he was one of the
27:19worst actually of
27:20Judah's kings
27:21Judah's kings were a
27:22mixed bag some of
27:22them were good some
27:23of them were bad
27:24turned out that Ahaz's
27:25son Hezekiah was
27:26very good but Ahaz
27:28himself was very bad
27:29he turned away from
27:30the lord he
27:31worshipped Baals the
27:32Canaanite gods he
27:33even sacrificed his
27:34children to pagan
27:35gods in the
27:36valley of Hinnom
27:36and because of
27:38this wickedness he
27:39was out of favour
27:40with God and
27:41trouble was coming
27:42upon the land in
27:43accordance with the
27:43general warning given
27:45in the Torah to the
27:46people of Israel not
27:47to worship other
27:47gods
27:48if you go to the
27:51context in Isaiah
27:52chapter 7 you find
27:54that at the beginning
27:54of his reign he
27:55suffered a defeat at
27:57an alliance of the
27:58king of Syria so
27:59Israel and Syria
28:01came together against
28:03king Ahaz and
28:05they were threatening
28:05his kingdom
28:06they were threatening
28:08to invade him
28:12besiege him and
28:14remove him from
28:15power and put their
28:16own king in place
28:17of him
28:17the reason why
28:19Ahaz
28:19resident Pekah wanted
28:21to get rid of
28:21Ahaz because he
28:22made an alliance
28:23with Assyria
28:24so he said
28:27well these guys
28:27are coming against
28:28me so I will make
28:29an alliance with
28:29Assyria to help me
28:30against Syria
28:32Assyria and
28:33Israel
28:33so Syria and
28:35Israel joined
28:36together and
28:36they came against
28:37Ahaz to stop
28:38this from happening
28:38and they wanted
28:41to remove Ahaz
28:43from power
28:44and put their
28:46own puppet king
28:46on the throne
28:47of Judah
28:47notice it says
28:49something about
28:49they're going to
28:50set up a king
28:51over him the
28:52son of Tabeal
28:52they're going to
28:54put somebody in
28:54the place of
28:55Ahaz and he's
28:57going to rule
28:58in his place
28:59so the first
29:00part of
29:01Isaiah 7
29:01which we read
29:02is a prophecy
29:02about this
29:03situation
29:03now it's
29:05interesting that
29:06Isaiah met
29:07Ahaz at the
29:08aqueduct
29:09all the details
29:11in the bible
29:12are significant
29:12why would he
29:13go to the
29:13aqueduct
29:13if he's worried
29:15about people
29:15coming against
29:16him to
29:16besiege his
29:18city
29:18he's going to
29:19want to make
29:20sure that he's
29:20got a water
29:21supply
29:21so he goes
29:22to the
29:22aqueduct to
29:23check that
29:23out
29:23he's worried
29:24about these
29:24guys coming
29:25down to
29:25attack him
29:25he goes
29:26and looks
29:27at his
29:28defense
29:28and God
29:29tells Isaiah
29:30you're going
29:30to meet
29:31him there
29:31so take
29:31your son
29:32along
29:32and meet
29:34with him
29:34at the
29:34aqueduct
29:35and Isaiah
29:37goes to him
29:38with a
29:38message
29:39Isaiah's
29:42message to
29:42king Ahaz
29:43is don't
29:44be afraid
29:44of this
29:46coming
29:46invasion
29:46he actually
29:48comes with
29:48him some
29:48good news
29:49he says
29:49this attempt
29:53to depose
29:53him and set
29:54up a puppet
29:54king by
29:55Rezin and
29:56Pekor is
29:57going to
29:57fail
29:57the plot
29:59will not
29:59succeed
30:00because even
30:01if it did
30:01the line
30:02of David
30:02would cease
30:02and therefore
30:03the promise
30:03of David
30:04would be
30:05null and
30:06void
30:06even more
30:08important it
30:08would cut
30:08off the
30:09messianic
30:09line
30:09and the
30:11historical books
30:13of the
30:14bible show
30:14that God
30:15took pains
30:15to preserve
30:16the line
30:16of David
30:16despite their
30:17continual
30:18failings
30:19you've got a
30:21verse actually
30:21in 2
30:22chronicles
30:22which speaks
30:23about one
30:23of the
30:23later kings
30:24a man
30:24called
30:24Jehoram
30:25which said
30:26did evil
30:26in the
30:26sight of
30:27the lord
30:27yet the
30:28lord
30:28would not
30:29destroy
30:29the house
30:29of David
30:30because of
30:30the covenant
30:31he made
30:31with the
30:31David
30:32and since
30:32he promised
30:33to give
30:33a lamp
30:33to him
30:34and to
30:34his sons
30:35forever
30:35so God
30:37was actually
30:38preserving
30:38king Ahaz
30:39even though
30:39he was a
30:39bad king
30:40and he was
30:40telling him
30:41that this
30:41promised
30:42invasion
30:42from the
30:42north
30:43is going
30:43to fail
30:43so don't
30:45worry
30:45about it
30:46and
30:48ill-trustly
30:50Isaiah speaks
30:51to Ahaz
30:52and he
30:52says
30:52this message
30:53should be
30:53an encouragement
30:54to you
30:54but Ahaz
30:55is a man
30:56who's full
30:56of unbelief
30:57he's trusting
30:58in his own
30:58plans to get
30:59him out
30:59of the hole
31:00he's in
31:00so the last
31:02part of
31:02Isaiah
31:02chapter 7
31:03verse 9
31:04he has a
31:04personal message
31:05to king Ahaz
31:06he says
31:06if you will
31:07not believe
31:07surely you
31:08will not
31:08be established
31:09in fact he
31:11puts in
31:11negative
31:11he could say
31:12if you believe
31:12you will be
31:13established
31:13but he says
31:14if you don't
31:14believe
31:14and he's
31:16reckoning
31:16that
31:16Isaiah
31:17is reckoning
31:18that Ahaz
31:18is not going
31:19to believe
31:19you won't
31:19be established
31:20if he were
31:22to turn
31:23to God
31:23in faith
31:23he would
31:23find security
31:24but if he
31:25doesn't
31:25he's going
31:25to continue
31:26in his
31:26unbelief
31:27so I said
31:29Ahaz
31:30had his
31:30own reasons
31:31for not
31:31wanting to
31:31hear what
31:32Isaiah
31:32was saying
31:32because he
31:33was trying
31:33to make
31:33a pact
31:34with the
31:35king of
31:35Assyria
31:35to defend
31:36him against
31:36Rezan and
31:37Pekah
31:37which was
31:39really like
31:39using the
31:39devil to
31:40fight against
31:40the demons
31:41because Assyria
31:41was going
31:41to turn out
31:42to be a
31:42much worse
31:43threat
31:44and a more
31:45ferocious
31:45and deadly
31:45foe to
31:46the kingdom
31:46of Judah
31:47than Syria
31:48and Israel
31:49ever were
31:50what he
31:51should have
31:51done was
31:51trust in
31:52the Lord
31:52as his
31:53own son
31:53Hezekiah
31:54did
31:54and if you
31:55read through
31:55the story
31:55you'll find
31:56that Hezekiah
31:56when the
31:57Assyrians
31:58came down
31:58trusted in
31:59the Lord
31:59and God
32:00defended them
32:00and delivered
32:01them from
32:01the threat
32:02now this is
32:04where it gets
32:04to the point
32:05God then
32:07offers Ahaz
32:08a sign
32:08to confirm
32:09the message
32:09which Isaiah
32:10has given
32:10to him
32:11a sign
32:13in the Hebrew
32:13word is
32:13ot
32:14it means
32:14miracle
32:15showing that
32:17there is a
32:17supernatural God
32:18in control
32:18of these
32:19events
32:19who is
32:19infinitely
32:20more powerful
32:20than these
32:21empires
32:21which are
32:21coming
32:22against him
32:22no matter
32:23how powerful
32:24they seem
32:24to be
32:25so God's
32:27offering Ahaz
32:27I'm going
32:28to set you
32:29you're not
32:30going to have
32:30to be defeated
32:31by these
32:32kings
32:32and I'm
32:32going to
32:32give you
32:33a sign
32:33to show
32:33that this
32:34is the
32:34case
32:34so Ahaz
32:37gets a bit
32:38religious at
32:39this point
32:39he says
32:42I will not
32:44ask nor will
32:44I test
32:45the Lord
32:45he's
32:47trying to
32:49quote
32:49scripture
32:50in a way
32:50and as
32:52all happens
32:52when unbelievers
32:53quote scripture
32:53they usually
32:54get it wrong
32:54he's
32:56referring to
32:57a verse
32:58in the book
32:59of Deuteronomy
32:59which says
33:00you shall not
33:00tempt or put
33:01the test
33:01to the Lord
33:02your God
33:02in other words
33:03don't ask
33:04God for a sign
33:05don't try and
33:06push God
33:06upon it
33:07but if God's
33:08actually offering
33:09to give you
33:10a sign
33:10then take it
33:11and in this
33:13case Ahaz
33:14is trying to
33:14resist it
33:15because Ahaz
33:15basically is
33:16an unbeliever
33:16and he doesn't
33:17really want to
33:18have any
33:18contact with
33:20the living God
33:20because he
33:21knows that
33:21if God
33:21contacts him
33:22he's going
33:22to
33:23convict him
33:24of his
33:24sin
33:24etc
33:25now what's
33:27interesting
33:27in the language
33:28here is
33:29if you read
33:29through the
33:30first part
33:30of this
33:31passage
33:31from
33:31chapter 1
33:32through to
33:33verse 11
33:34the word
33:36you is
33:37in the
33:37singular
33:37this comes
33:40out in
33:41the Hebrew
33:41it also
33:41comes out
33:42in the
33:43in the
33:44AV text
33:46because in
33:47Old English
33:48you have
33:49two words
33:49for you
33:49thou
33:50for the
33:51singular
33:51and ye
33:51for the
33:51plural
33:52modern English
33:53you only
33:54have one
33:54you
33:54so if
33:56you read
33:56it in
33:57a modern
33:57English
33:57translation
33:57like I've
33:58just done
33:58you won't
33:59know there's
34:00a change
34:00in the
34:00pronoun
34:03there
34:03it changes
34:03from speaking
34:04one
34:04to you
34:05Ahaz
34:05now to
34:07speaking
34:07to you
34:08plural
34:08so from
34:11verse 13
34:12to 14
34:13which is
34:13the significant
34:13verses
34:14which you're
34:14looking at
34:15is now
34:16addressed to
34:16you in
34:17the plural
34:17now God's
34:18talking to
34:19the whole
34:19house of
34:19David
34:20in fact he's
34:22telling them
34:22that he's
34:22pretty fed up
34:23with them
34:23because they're
34:24not listening
34:25to him
34:25and particularly
34:26Ahaz is not
34:27listening to him
34:28and whether they
34:29want it or not
34:29he's going to
34:30give them a
34:30sign
34:31a miraculous
34:32sign which
34:33would give
34:33a deeper
34:33reason as to
34:34why despite
34:35their obvious
34:35failures
34:36he's going
34:37to preserve
34:37them
34:38until the
34:38appointed
34:39time
34:39and the
34:40sign is
34:41the key
34:41verse
34:42behold the
34:42virgin
34:42shall
34:43conceive
34:43and bear
34:43a son
34:44and shall
34:44call his
34:45name
34:45Emmanuel
34:46so because of
34:48this messianic
34:49prophecy
34:50of the seed
34:51of the woman
34:51and the promise
34:52to David
34:53that he's going
34:53to have a
34:54descendant
34:54he's going
34:54to have an
34:55eternal house
34:55an eternal
34:56throne
34:56and an
34:57eternal
34:57kingdom
34:57God's going
34:59to keep
34:59the line
35:00of David
35:00in place
35:01and keep
35:01Ahaz
35:02on the
35:02throne
35:02even though
35:04he's a
35:04wicked king
35:04he's in
35:05the line
35:05of succession
35:06he's a
35:06legitimate king
35:07of the line
35:07of David
35:07unlike the
35:09one they want
35:09to put in
35:10his place
35:10the son
35:11of Tebaal
35:11and there's a
35:12possibility that
35:13even if he does
35:14not repent
35:14his son who
35:15comes after him
35:16may repent
35:17and follow the
35:18Lord
35:18as King
35:19Hezekiah
35:20actually did
35:20so it's a
35:22sign to King
35:23Ahaz
35:24but not just
35:26to King
35:26Ahaz
35:26it's a sign
35:27to the whole
35:27house of
35:28David
35:28God's saying
35:30I'm going to
35:30do something
35:31about your
35:31unbelief
35:31your failure
35:32I'm going
35:32to bring
35:32a son
35:33who's going
35:34to be
35:34born to
35:35a virgin
35:35whose name
35:37is Emmanuel
35:38who is
35:38God with
35:39us
35:39now this
35:41word
35:41Emmanuel
35:42is interesting
35:43because it's
35:43three Hebrew
35:44words
35:44God
35:46with us
35:48and this
35:50whole section
35:51of Isaiah
35:51from chapter
35:517 through
35:52to chapter
35:529 is
35:53called the
35:54Emmanuel
35:54section
35:54of Isaiah
35:55you have
35:56references to
35:57Isaiah
35:58to Emmanuel
35:59in this
36:00passage
36:00in chapter
36:018
36:02there's an
36:02interesting
36:03passage
36:03which speaks
36:04about the
36:05Assyrians
36:05coming against
36:06Judah
36:07and it speaks
36:10about a
36:10invasion
36:11which is going
36:11to come
36:12in verse
36:127 and
36:13verse 8
36:13which may
36:15be
36:15concerning
36:16to them
36:16then in
36:17verse 10
36:18it says
36:18take counsel
36:19together
36:19but it
36:20will come
36:20to nothing
36:21speak the
36:21word
36:21for it
36:22will not
36:22stand
36:22for God
36:23is with
36:23us
36:23so God
36:26says
36:26this is
36:27about the
36:27latest
36:27thing
36:27which
36:28is going
36:28to happen
36:28in the
36:28days
36:29of
36:29Hezekiah
36:30when the
36:31Assyrians
36:31come down
36:32and they
36:32invade you
36:33actually God
36:33is going
36:33to intervene
36:34to stop
36:34their invasion
36:35and it
36:36will not
36:36come near
36:36to you
36:37because God
36:37is with
36:38you
36:38God
36:38is with
36:38us
36:39because of
36:40Emmanuel
36:40so because
36:42God is
36:42with them
36:43at this
36:44point God
36:44is going
36:44to save
36:45Judah
36:45from the
36:45Assyrian
36:46invasion
36:46you can
36:47read that
36:47happens
36:47literally
36:48when the
36:48Assyrians
36:49come down
36:49and they
36:52besiege
36:52Jerusalem
36:53and then the
36:53angel of the
36:53Lord goes
36:54and knocks
36:55them out
36:55and they
36:57and Judah
36:58Jerusalem
36:59is saved
37:00ok so
37:03if you read
37:04this in the
37:04Hebrew it
37:05says this
37:06is going
37:06to fail
37:07because of
37:09Emmanuel
37:09Hebrew it
37:11says
37:11Ki
37:11Emmanuel
37:12it's going
37:14to fail
37:14because of
37:15Emmanuel
37:15it's going
37:16to fail
37:16because of
37:17the Emmanuel
37:17prophecy
37:18which has
37:18to be
37:18fulfilled
37:19now
37:21this is
37:22another
37:22interesting
37:23historical
37:23little bit
37:24I don't
37:24know if
37:24you do
37:24find these
37:24bits
37:25interesting
37:25but I
37:25find them
37:26fascinating
37:26because they
37:27tell you
37:27how the
37:27Bible
37:28is true
37:28if the
37:30Assyrian
37:30invasion
37:30had
37:31succeeded
37:31and they
37:32did take
37:32the
37:33kingdom
37:35of Israel
37:36away
37:36the
37:37kingdom
37:37of Israel
37:38basically
37:38lost its
37:39identity
37:40and
37:40intermarried
37:41and
37:42basically
37:43those
37:44Jews
37:44who
37:44remained
37:45in the
37:45kingdom
37:45of Israel
37:46have lost
37:47their
37:47Jewish
37:48identity
37:48to this
37:48day
37:49if they
37:50had taken
37:51the
37:51kingdom
37:51of Judah
37:51away
37:52and
37:53managed
37:54to do
37:54the same
37:55as they
37:55did
37:55to
37:55Israel
37:56to Judah
37:57take
37:57them
37:57away
37:58into
37:58captivity
37:58then
37:59Judah
38:00would have
38:00lost
38:00its
38:00identity
38:01and there
38:01would have
38:01been no
38:01messianic line
38:02and there
38:03would be no
38:03messiah
38:03there would be no
38:04return and they were
38:04rebuilding
38:05so it was very important to God that actually the Assyrian invasion
38:09though he allowed it to happen in the northern kingdom which was already
38:13moving away from God
38:14he didn't allow it to happen in the southern kingdom because that was the kingdom which he was going to prepare the messiah to come through to
38:20about 150 years
38:22about 150 years later the Babylonians did invade the southern kingdom and took Judah captive away to Babylon
38:30gain a judgment for their sins and he kept them in Babylon for 70 years and then they returned
38:35now the Babylonians had a different policy from the Assyrians and they kept the Jewish community separate they didn't make them into
38:42marry they continued to live as their own community they have their Torah scrolls and they kept the faith in the Lord
38:48they had prophets like Daniel who kept them on the way to keep the Lord
38:51and they kept them as an identity
38:54the Babylonian empire then fell to the Persians
38:59Median Persians
39:01and they gave the decree of Cyrus to send the Jewish people back to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem
39:06and about 400 years later the messiah came
39:09so there's a sequence of events which is very important there which meant that Judah had to stay
39:15until the right time when they went to Babylon
39:19they were going to come back again as prophesied by Jeremiah
39:22they were going to rebuild the temple and reconstitute themselves as a Jewish entity in that part of the world
39:27until the messiah came
39:29Messiah came in the person of Yeshua fulfilling the prophecy of the virgin birth prophecy and the rest of the prophecies
39:35and died on the cross rose from the dead and 40 years later
39:39Jerusalem fell and then the Jewish people were expelled from the land and began the dispersion
39:44but if you take all that together there had to be a
39:48Emmanuel prophecy for the Emmanuel prophecy to come to pass
39:50Jewish people had to continue as a line and they had to be in the land
39:56so in this way
40:02it was possible then for the messiah to come
40:06to be the seed of the woman
40:07be born in a supernatural way by virgin birth
40:10and the sign would not be fulfilled in Ahaz day
40:14but many centuries later
40:15when the holy spirit comes upon the virgin Miriam of the line of David
40:20whose betroth to be married to Yosef is also of the line of David
40:23and the result would be the immaculate conception of Yeshua the messiah
40:27son of God being made man by virgin birth
40:31it all fitted in so that this prophecy of Isaiah would come to pass
40:35and if you look at it in context you can see that it all makes sense
40:39if you just take a superficial view as the rabbi was doing
40:42then it doesn't make much sense
40:44now the Emmanuel section of Isaiah actually concludes with this prophecy in chapter 9
40:49verse 6
40:52another verse which is well known because it's usually used at this time of year by Christians
40:58but it's in the Hebrew text
41:00it says unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given
41:03the government will be upon his shoulder
41:04his name will be called Wonderful Counselor
41:07Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
41:10of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end
41:13upon the throne of David and over his kingdom
41:15to order and establish it
41:17with judgment and justice from that time forward even forever
41:19the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this
41:22so speaking here about a son who's going to be born
41:26a child is going to be born, a son is going to be given
41:30and this child is going to have the government upon his shoulder
41:33otherwise he's going to be a ruler in the end
41:36going to be the king of the Jews
41:37and indeed king of the whole world at the second coming of Jesus
41:41he's given names here which are Wonderful Counselor
41:45and the wonderful part of it is the word Pele
41:49and the word Pele is only used at the wonders of God
41:52so this implies that he's going to have some divine power to give good counsel
41:56he's called the Mighty God, El Gibor
42:01which means he is God with us, he's Emmanuel
42:04he's more than just a man, he's not just a prophet
42:06he is God with us
42:07the Everlasting Father, Avolam
42:10and Avolam implies that he is just the father of everlastingness as well
42:16he's the one who authors everlastingness, he gives eternal life
42:19so he is the Everlasting Father, he's the Prince of Peace, the Sar Shalom
42:24now all those titles apply to Yeshua, to Jesus
42:27and they're the product of the virgin birth prophecy
42:30being coming to fulfilment
42:32and the one who is of the line of David
42:33being conceived in the womb of Miriam
42:36supernaturally by the Holy Spirit
42:37and being born as Son of God and Son of Man
42:41says he's going to have an eternal kingdom
42:44he's going to sit upon the throne of David
42:45and over his kingdom
42:46to order it and establish it with judgment and justice
42:50from that time forward, even forever
42:52the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this
42:55so you've got another prophecy here
42:56which is speaking about the fact that this one
42:58is going to be born of the line of David
42:59is going to be an eternal person
43:00with an eternal kingdom
43:01and an eternal throne
43:03tying up with the other prophecy we looked at
43:05in 1 Chronicles
43:06so all these things are speaking about
43:11the Messiah who's going to be born
43:12and they don't apply to any human being
43:16there's no one who you can
43:17you know, Rabbi Batea says it's not about Jesus
43:20and anyone who says it is about Jesus
43:22is being dishonest
43:23okay, if it's not about Jesus
43:25who is it about?
43:27well, the rabbis say it's about Hezekiah
43:29who was David's son
43:31who was a good king
43:31but Hezekiah doesn't have an eternal throne
43:34and an eternal house
43:35and Hezekiah is long dead
43:37so it can't be about Hezekiah
43:38it has to be about one who is more than this
43:41and Hezekiah was born in the normal way
43:43and he was a good king
43:44but he was not the fulfilment of these prophecies
43:47so
43:49we're not being dishonest
43:50we're being honest
43:51and we're fulfilling the prophecy
43:53Jesus fulfilled the prophecy
43:54and we can believe it's true
43:55okay, just another
43:57before we close
43:59another interesting little point
44:01so following the virgin birth prophecy
44:03God goes back to speaking directly to King Ahaz
44:07so we go back to the text in chapter 17
44:10chapter 7 of Isaiah
44:12verse 15 it says
44:14curds and honey he shall eat
44:16that he shall know to refuse evil
44:17and choose the good
44:18for before the child shall know
44:20to refuse the evil
44:21and choose the good
44:22the land that you dread
44:23will be forsaken
44:24by both her kings
44:26the Lord will bring
44:29the king of Assyria
44:30upon you
44:31and upon your people
44:32and your father's house
44:33days that have not come
44:34since the day that Ephraim
44:35departed from Judah
44:36so here he makes
44:40a specific prophecy
44:41to Ahaz
44:41about what's going to happen
44:43in the future
44:43and remember I said
44:45that the first part of this prophecy
44:46he's speaking to Ahaz
44:47he's speaking in the singular you
44:49in the virgin birth part
44:52he's speaking to the whole house of David
44:54so it becomes the plural
44:55now he goes back to speaking
44:57to Ahaz in the singular
44:58and he's saying something to Ahaz
45:01about what's going to happen to him
45:02now if you're thinking about
45:05from Ahaz's point of view
45:06a prophecy about the future conception
45:08and birth of the Messiah
45:09about 700 years later
45:10may be interesting
45:12but it's not much used to him
45:13in his immediate predicament
45:14so Isaiah now tells him
45:17that both the kings
45:17that are threatening him
45:18who've been revealed
45:20in the first part
45:21these kings Rezin and Pekah
45:22are going to be removed
45:24from power themselves
45:25before the child should know
45:26to refuse the evil
45:27and choose the good
45:28which means to reach
45:30the age of maturity
45:32so that you can make
45:33independent moral judgments
45:34generally considered to be
45:36about the age of 13 or 14
45:38so you now have to ask the question
45:40which child is this prophecy
45:42referring to
45:43now I see that in this verse here
45:45in this Bible
45:46actually the word child
45:47has a capital C
45:48so they presume it's talking
45:50about Jesus
45:50I would like to question
45:52if it's not talking about Jesus
45:54if it is talking about Jesus
45:57then it doesn't really add up
45:59to the rest of the prophecy
46:01now the Hebrew says
46:03the child not a child
46:04so he must be referring back
46:06to a child who's already
46:08been referred to in the text
46:10or one who's already known
46:12to the hearers of this prophecy
46:13so we've got two
46:15children if you like
46:18who've been mentioned
46:18in this prophecy
46:19one is Emmanuel
46:20and the other is
46:23She'ah Yashub
46:23who's Isaiah's son
46:25mentioned in verse 3
46:26so which one is he referring to here?
46:31now the common interpretation
46:32is it does refer to Emmanuel
46:33in other words
46:34there was a boy called Emmanuel
46:35who's going to be born
46:36and before he was old enough
46:38to know good from evil
46:39the two kings Ahaz was afraid of
46:41would no longer be a threat to him
46:42and Christian commentators
46:44using this line of prophecy
46:45say that it has two applications
46:47one to Ahaz
46:48and one to the birth of Jesus
46:51but there are difficulties with this
46:54okay this is a bit technical
46:56you have to bear with me
46:57but if you look at the dates
46:58given in 2 Kings chapter 16
47:00you find that King Pekar
47:02one of the kings referred to here
47:04was assassinated
47:05three years after Ahaz
47:06came to the throne
47:07this means that the prophecy
47:09of Isaiah 7
47:10must have been given to Ahaz
47:12at the beginning of his reign
47:13and the outcome of the prophecy
47:16would take place in a short time
47:17much less time
47:18than was needed
47:19for a child to be born
47:20and reach the age of maturity
47:21so if you can follow
47:24what I'm saying there
47:24that means that it's difficult
47:26if this is really talking about
47:27a child who's just going to be born
47:28whether it is a child called Emmanuel
47:30or whether it's even referring
47:32to Jesus as Emmanuel
47:33if it's referring to Isaiah's son
47:36She'ar Yashub
47:37who was standing there with him
47:38it makes sense
47:39it raises the question
47:41why did God tell Isaiah
47:42to bring his son with him
47:44on this mission
47:45which might be a little bit dangerous
47:46well God told him to do it
47:48and that was the purpose for it
47:50and it's interesting
47:51that his name
47:52She'ar Yashub
47:53actually means something
47:55in Hebrew
47:55it means a remnant shall return
47:57so it has some application
47:59to what's going to happen
48:00in the future
48:00that there's going to be
48:01a dispersion of the Jewish people
48:03to Babylon
48:03they're going to return again
48:05which is one of the great themes
48:06of the book of Isaiah
48:07okay so this prophecy then is
48:12if it's referring to
48:14referring to She'ar Yashub
48:16then it means that
48:19this is fulfilled
48:21in this point
48:23and Arnold Fruchtenbaum
48:25actually gives this
48:25interpretation
48:26when he says
48:27the boy referred to
48:28is not Emmanuel
48:28but She'ar Yashub
48:29Isaiah's young son
48:31who was standing there
48:31before Ahaz
48:32at the time
48:33the prophecy was given
48:34okay what about the woman
48:39so I should say
48:51later in Ahaz
48:52reigned the threat
48:53to his kingdom
48:53from Israel
48:54and Judah
48:55did recede
48:55Peek of the king of Israel
48:57was assassinated
48:58by Hosea
48:59in the third year
49:01of Ahaz reign
49:02five years after
49:04the death of Ahaz
49:05in the ninth year
49:05of Hosea
49:06the king of Israel
49:06the Assyrians
49:07invaded Syria
49:08and the northern
49:10kingdom of Israel
49:10taking its people
49:11into captivity
49:12so God supernaturally
49:15prevented them
49:15from taking Judah
49:16into captivity
49:16as well
49:17in response to
49:19Isaiah's ministry
49:20and in order to
49:20fulfil his prophetic
49:21word concerning
49:22the coming Messiah
49:23so from this
49:26you can say
49:26there are two prophecies
49:27one a short-term
49:28prophecy
49:28concerning events
49:29which are soon
49:30to be fulfilled
49:30given to King Ahaz
49:32and a long-term
49:33prophecy
49:33concerning the
49:34miraculous conception
49:35and birth of the
49:36son who be called
49:37Emmanuel
49:38ok so a conclusion
49:41as a result of this
49:43the messianic line
49:45was preserved
49:45the Jewish people
49:47continued to be
49:48in the land of Israel
49:48until the time
49:49of the fulfilment
49:50of the Emmanuel
49:51prophecy
49:51in the birth
49:52of the Messiah
49:53Yeshua
49:5440 years after
49:56his crucifixion
49:57the Romans
49:58destroyed the Jerusalem
49:59and the temple
50:00dispersed the Jewish
50:02people and caused
50:02the genealogical
50:03records in the temple
50:05to be destroyed
50:05in fact from now
50:07in this present time
50:08although the Jews
50:09are looking for the
50:09Messiah to be
50:10descended from David
50:11difficult for anybody
50:12to confirm that
50:14they're of the line
50:15of David
50:15because the records
50:16are not there
50:17at the time when
50:18Matthew and Luke
50:19were writing their
50:19gospels
50:20they could refer
50:20to the genealogical
50:21records which were
50:22still in the temple
50:23and check out that
50:25both Joseph and Mary
50:26were descended from
50:27King David
50:28and the prophecy
50:32of Daniel chapter 9
50:33indicates the Messiah
50:34would come
50:35and be cut off
50:36before the destruction
50:37of the second temple
50:38giving you another
50:40pointer to the fact
50:41that this refers to
50:42Jesus the Messiah
50:43who did come
50:44and was cut off
50:45died a violent death
50:46by crucifixion
50:4740 years before
50:48the temple was
50:49destroyed
50:49in the year 70
50:51so what about
50:53the woman
50:53the woman is
50:55the virgin
50:57the woman
50:58the authorised version
51:00actually translated
51:00as a woman
51:02again we're going to
51:05comment on
51:05Arnold Fruchtenbaum's
51:06commentary here
51:07he says
51:07according to the rules
51:08of Hebrew grammar
51:09when finding the use
51:10of the definite article
51:11the reader should look
51:12back for a reference
51:13in the immediate
51:14previous context
51:15having followed the passage
51:17from chapter 7-1
51:18there has been no mention
51:19of any woman
51:19having failed with
51:21the immediate context
51:22the second rule
51:22is the principle
51:23of previous reference
51:24something which has been
51:26dealt with much earlier
51:27and is common knowledge
51:28among the people
51:29where in Jewish scripture
51:31is there any record
51:31any concept of a virgin
51:33giving birth to a son
51:34the only possible reference
51:37is Genesis 3-15
51:38the seed of the woman
51:39prophecy referred to
51:40above
51:41contrary to biblical law
51:43the Messiah would have
51:44to be reckoned
51:45after the seed of the woman
51:46why?
51:47because he would have
51:48no human father
51:48he would be a virgin
51:50this would be a virgin
51:52conception and birth
51:53in other words
51:55the woman is
51:56Miriam Mary
51:57and the only way
51:58this prophecy
51:59can be fulfilled
52:00is in the virgin
52:01birth of the Messiah
52:02when you look
52:04in the New Testament
52:04you find that the angel
52:05Gabriel arrives
52:07to speak to a woman
52:09betrothed to a man
52:10whose name was Joseph
52:11of the house of David
52:12and Mary is highly
52:14favoured among women
52:15because she's the woman
52:16of Genesis chapter 3
52:17verse 15
52:18she has to be unmarried
52:20and therefore a virgin
52:21she has to be betrothed
52:23to be married
52:24because if she were
52:25to come out of this
52:26experience as an unmarried mother
52:27her position in society
52:29would be quite difficult
52:30so it comes at this point
52:33where Mary has already
52:34been betrothed
52:35but she's not yet married
52:36so the marriage
52:38has not yet been consummated
52:39but she is still a virgin
52:40in Hebrew culture
52:42once you were betrothed
52:42it was a very solemn matter
52:44it was something
52:45which couldn't be broken easily
52:46in fact the text tells you
52:47that in order to break off
52:48the relationship
52:49they would have to sign
52:50a divorce settlement
52:52and the angel actually
52:53comes to Joseph
52:54to say don't do this
52:55because Mary hasn't been
52:57a naughty girl
52:57she's actually been
52:58this is the conception
53:00of the miraculous birth
53:01of the Messiah
53:02to be born to this
53:04virgin woman
53:04according to Isaiah
53:06chapter 7
53:06verse 14
53:07and so when you come
53:11to the text
53:11you find that Joseph
53:12and Mary
53:12come together
53:15after this
53:16they have other children
53:17but until the child
53:18is born
53:19Mary remains a virgin
53:20she's not the queen
53:21of heaven
53:22she's not a perpetual virgin
53:23because she has other children
53:24but at this point
53:25she is a virgin
53:26and she has to be a virgin
53:28in order to fulfill
53:28the prophecy
53:29so that Jesus can be born
53:31without sin
53:33with a human nature
53:34but also with the divine nature
53:36of being the sinless
53:37son of God
53:38and in conclusion
53:42you could say
53:43that that prophecy
53:44which I read earlier
53:44from Luke chapter 1
53:47where the angel
53:48tells Mary
53:49that he's going to
53:50bring forth a son
53:51call his name Yeshua
53:53which means salvation
53:54he'll be great
53:55and will be called
53:56the son of the highest
53:57and the Lord will give him
53:58the throne of his father David
53:59he'll reign over the house
54:00of Jacob forever
54:01and of his kingdom
54:02there will be no end
54:03and it's going to happen
54:05when the Holy Spirit
54:06will come upon you
54:07the power of the highest
54:07will overshadow you
54:08therefore the Holy One
54:09who is to be born
54:10shall be called
54:11the Son of God
54:11so this is the
54:15fulfillment of the
54:16prophecy of Isaiah
54:17we believe that it
54:19shows that the Messiah
54:20was to be born
54:21in this supernatural way
54:22in order to redeem us
54:23from our sins
54:24it's actually nothing
54:26for God to overrule
54:27the laws of nature
54:28because he made them
54:29up himself
54:29and he can do
54:31what he wants
54:31with his creation
54:32so he can overrule
54:34and bring forth
54:34his son
54:35without a human father
54:37and who would then be
54:39without the sin nature
54:40which is passed on
54:41from generation
54:42to generation
54:43but also be fully human
54:44he's able also
54:46to give us peace
54:47and security
54:47even if we face enemies
54:49coming against us
54:49as King Ahaz did
54:50text we looked at
54:53says that Ahaz
54:54was not established
54:55in David's throne
54:55nor in the kingdom of God
54:57because he lacked faith
54:59in the promises of God
55:00all of this is
55:03fulfilled in the Messiah
55:04Yeshua
55:05who's come once
55:06in fulfillment of prophecy
55:07and is coming again
55:08to complete the messianic
55:09promen and rule
55:10on David's throne
55:11to believe in him
55:14you do not have to be
55:14intellectually dishonest
55:15but you have to have
55:16the courage to go
55:17against the flow
55:18and to stand firm
55:19in the face of adversity
55:20unlike King Ahaz
55:22but like his son
55:23King Hezekiah
55:25who did believe God
55:26and was established
55:27on David's throne
55:28and saw a great victory
55:30over the powers of darkness
55:31coming to take
55:32Judah away
55:34and there's a kind of
55:36message to us here
55:36to believe
55:38to believe what God
55:39says
55:39even if it's hard
55:40to believe
55:41and it is hard
55:43to believe that
55:43in the virgin birth
55:45it's hard to believe
55:46in the death
55:46and resurrection
55:46of Jesus
55:47these things don't
55:48happen in the natural
55:48world
55:49but God overruled
55:50in the person
55:51of Jesus Christ
55:51Yeshua the Messiah
55:53because he is
55:53Son of God
55:54he is the Messiah
55:56he's the one who is
55:57the King of Kings
55:57and Lord of Lords
55:58and he did come
56:00in this supernatural way
56:01in order to redeem
56:02you and me
56:03and the angel said
56:05to Joseph
56:06you should call
56:07his name Yeshua
56:08Jesus
56:09which means salvation
56:11for he will save
56:12his people from
56:13their sins
56:13and that was the
56:14purpose for which
56:15he came
56:15and which he fulfilled
56:17wonderfully
56:18through his life
56:19through his death
56:20and through his
56:20resurrection
56:21and continues to
56:22fulfill for all
56:23those who call
56:24on the name
56:24of the Lord
56:24for salvation
56:25so believe on
56:27the Lord Jesus
56:27the Messiah
56:28and you shall
56:29be saved
56:29Amen
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